Work due to begin on £112m flood plans

LEEDS CITY Council staff will be in Apperley Bridge from today to begin works to reduce flooding along the River Aire.

The council is spending more than £112m on flood alleviation works along the river in a bid to avoid a repeat of the Boxing Day floods of 2015.

Although much of the work will take place within the Leeds area, there will also be improvements made across the border with Bradford, with works in Apperley Bridge. These works are expected to be primarily on the river banks and bridge on Apperley Lane and around Harrogate Road.

It will include work on the land between the Stansfield Arms pub and the River Aire, and a field the opposite side of the river. Workers are expected to busy on the site for seven weeks, and the council has assured residents there will be minimal disruption.

Last month Bradford Council gave the go-ahead for these works to begin, and told Leeds that it should hold a “meaningful consultation” before any major works begin.

They said they would need to speak to highways teams about any disruptions, and to heritage groups about the impact of any works on listed buildings. A Leeds City Council spokesperson said: “As part of the second stage of the £112m Leeds Alleviation Scheme, Leeds City Council and the Environment Agency has set out plans for redevelopment work at Appleby Bridge.

“Given that this part of the project does cross the boundary into Bradford, we are working closely with Bradford Council around various details of these proposals.”